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“That was really, really brave of you,” Loup said honestly, unlacing her boots, stripping off the camouflage pants, and pulling on the jeans.
Pilar flushed. “Yeah, well, you’re worth it. ” She ducked her head, picking through an array of crumpled shirts, settling on a pink cotton camisole. “Here. This one’s pretty small, too. ” She watched Loup put it on. “Cute. I like seeing you in my clothes. ” She traced the line of Loup’s collarbone, her expression softening. “You’re awfully thin, baby. ”
“Yeah, sorry. They didn’t feed me enough. ”
“Loup, I’m not complaining, for God’s sake. ” Pilar cupped her face, kissed her tenderly. “Just let me fuss over you, okay?” She brushed her fingertips over the faint pink line bisecting Loup’s eyebrow. “That from the fight?” Loup nodded. Pilar’s eyes were bright with tears. “From now on, I’m gonna take good care of you, I promise. ”
Loup laughed.
“Don’t laugh! I’m serious. ”
“I know, I know. ”
“I am,” Pilar said adamantly. “I’ll get a job, I bet I can get a job bartending. That guy Christophe, he said so. I’ll work all day and take care of you all night. ”
“What am I gonna do all day?”
“I don’t care. ” Pilar shook her head. “Play on the beach with all the other little werewolves and chase your tails. I don’t care. ”
“Pilar, you’re kind of delirious. ”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know. ”
“Just don’t ever leave me again,” Loup said seriously. “Promise?”
“Never. ” Pilar kissed her, over and over. “Never, ever, ever. ”
Someone coughed.
“Okay, okay!” Loup called. She folded the fatigues and slid her bare feet into a pair of flip-flops Pilar handed her, brought everything back to Johnson. He stowed the gear in his bag, then thrust out his hand.
“You take care. ” His handshake was firm.
“You, too,” she said.
It felt strange to see him go, climbing back down the shaft. None of it seemed quite real. But it was real. Wherever she was, it wasn’t a cell. The warehouse was real, the car was real. Impossible but true, Pilar was real. The young guy, Christophe, he was real. Kin, the son of a man her father had considered a brother.
Johnson reached the bottom of the shaft and whistled. Christophe whistled in reply, then wrestled the trapdoor closed.
“Okay!” He gave them both a grin. “We have to make time, too. Be gone by sunrise. You ever see sunrise from a convertible?”
They shook their heads.
“I never even rode in a car before today,” Pilar added.
“Oh, man!” Christophe’s grin widened. “I’m going to show you the world!” He went over to the cargo door and flung it open. Warm, dry air blew through the warehouse. “Cities and mountains and nightclubs, oceans and palm trees and coral reefs. You ever ate a fish grilled fresh off the boat?”
“Are you kidding?” Loup asked.
He beamed. “A little. ”
She laughed. “What about the important people we’re supposed to meet?”
“Oh, sure. ” He nodded. “That, too. But it’s not the fun part. ” “Umm… what are we gonna live on?” Pilar asked. Christophe shrugged. “You want to get a job, I can get you a job in Huatulco. Plenty of bars. Loup, you have a little bit of money owed you. Martin’s stake in a fishing charter business. I don’t know why, but all the original kin were crazy for fishing. Me, I just like eating them. ” He flashed another grin. “Right now, you’re both guests of the government of Mexico, and I’m your lucky escort. ”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yes. ” He nodded again. “And I will take you to meet the important people, the boring government officials, so we can make the world a better place. We have a long ride ahead of us and I will tell you more. But also, I am happy to be your guide. I will teach you to speak good Spanish and consult in important matters like buying bikini bathing suits, so you can lie beneath the palm trees and rub each other with suntan lotion. ”
“Bikinis,” Pilar murmured.
Loup eyed her. “You’d look good in one. ”
“You would. ”
“Both of you will,” Christophe said cheerfully. He opened the passenger door of the car. “So? Are you ready to see the world?”
Loup gave Pilar an inquiring look.
“What?” Pilar turned pink. “You’re asking me?” She summoned a dazzling, heart-stopping smile, eyes still bright with tears, squeezing Loup’s hand in hers. It made her so happy it almost hurt. “In case you hadn’t noticed, baby, I’m pretty much ready to go anywhere as long as it’s with you. ”
“So?” Christophe repeated. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” Loup said. “Yeah, let’s go. ”
The stars were still out. The convertible purred softly, running without headlights as they drove out of the abandoned border town, all three in the wide front seat. The dim road stretched before them.
“If you look back, you can see the lights of Outpost,” Christophe said.
Loup turned and knelt on the seat, gazing behind them. The wall was a hulking gray presence receding in the distance. Beyond, she could see a faint stain of brightness in the night sky. Not much, but it was there. Pilar turned too, gazing over Loup’s shoulder. A backwash of hot wind made her hair swirl, silken and tickling. Loup thought about everything they were leaving behind—the church and Father Ramon and Sister Martha and Anna. Mack and all the Santitos. The cemetery where her mother and Tommy were buried. Coach Roberts. Miguel Garza and his uncertain quest.
“Do you think we’ll ever see them again?” Pilar whispered in her ear.
“Yeah, I do. ” She thought about the empty cell with the basket and the robe. Santa Olivia’s last mystery. “We’ve got to believe it, that’s all. ”
“Okay. ”
They turned back to face the road. Christophe hummed to himself, tuneless and good-natured, concentrating on driving in near-darkness. Pilar stifled a yawn and settled her head on Loup’s shoulder.
Overhead, the stars began to pale.
They drove onward toward dawn and the future, leaving Santa Olivia behind.
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